Russia delivers new military hardware and equipment to Crimea

The Russian Ministry of Defense has shipped new military hardware and equipment to divisions of the Southern Military District, including the Crimea.

According to the Defense Ministry’s press service, more than 20 of the latest pieces of military hardware were supplied to the Southern Military District.

“Among them were R-149AKSh staff command cars based on the Kamaz truck, intended for organizing secure communication under difficult operating conditions and under conditions of creating deliberate interference in the radio networks, and also R-439MD2 satellite communication stations based on the K1Sh1 armored car,” the announcement states.

According to the department, since the start of the year, the Armed forces of the Southern Military District have received more than 600 items of the latest modernized equipment, including more than 450 cars and armored vehicles, which constitute roughly 35% of the planned deliveries this year.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine officially declared the 20th of February 2014 as the start of the temporary occupation of the Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia. On the 7th of October 2015, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed the relevant law.

The internationally recognized Ukrainian territory of Crimea was annexed by the Russian Federation in March of 2014 in the wake of the Ukrainian revolution. The Kremlin has faced international condemnation for its annexation of the Peninsula, leading many western countries to impose economic sanctions against Russia. In the United Nations, only Afghanistan, North Korea, Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Syria recognize Crimea as a legitimate federal subject of Russia.